"I'm a military fan, and I bought a BB gun just to play in the office, which is not only for entertainment, but also to relieve loneliness, and I never thought it would constitute a crime." On the afternoon of August 2, Mr. Wang, an executive of a pharmaceutical company in Liaoning, told a reporter from Huashang Daily Gale News that because he had 5 BB guns in his collection, the court of first instance recently convicted him of illegal possession of firearms and exempted him from criminal punishment.
"My hometown is in Heilongjiang, my father is a veteran, I have loved the military since I was a child, and I am very interested in toy guns." On the afternoon of August 2, Mr. Wang, who was born in the 80s, told a reporter from Huashang Daily Gale News that after graduating from Xi'an Jiaotong University, he first worked in Beijing and came to Dandong, Liaoning Province a few years ago to become a senior executive of a pharmaceutical company.
"When I first came to work in Dandong, my family and friends were not around, and I was usually bored except for work." Mr. Wang said that around 2018, he found that there were merchants selling water bullet guns and BB guns on the Internet, so he bought 5 guns one after another. The price of each piece ranges from a few hundred yuan to more than 1,000 yuan.
"I've been keeping the toy gun in the office since I bought it, and I've never taken it out, and I'll play with it a few times in the office when I'm fine." Mr. Wang said he had always thought he had bought a toy gun. Unexpectedly, one day in November 2022, a police officer called him and said that he was suspected of illegal possession of firearms. After he brought the police to the office, the police seized the five toy guns he had previously purchased.
"Later, I learned that it was the Jilin police who arrested the online seller, and the seller confessed to me, and the police found me." Mr. Wang said that he told the truth at the police and that the case was then transferred to the procuratorate. Subsequently, the Zhen'an District Procuratorate of Dandong City charged him with the crime of illegal possession of firearms and filed a public prosecution with the Zhen'an District Court of Dandong City. In the indictment, the prosecution recommended that the court sentence him to three years in prison, and if he was able to voluntarily plead guilty and accept punishment during the court trial, it recommended that he be sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years.
"I never thought that my actions were criminal." Mr. Wang said that on June 14, 2024, the case was heard in the Zhen'an District Court of Dandong City. During the trial, he claimed that he did not have the subjective intent to illegally possess firearms, and that it did not constitute the crime of illegal possession of firearms.
Lawyer's statement
The firearm involved in the case was not an abstract danger
Defense lawyer Zhou Yuzhong pointed out that the facts of the prosecution's accusation that the defendant illegally possessed firearms were unclear and the evidence was insufficient, and the defendant did not have the subjective intent to commit a crime involving firearms. The muzzle specific kinetic energy of the firearm involved in the case ranged from 1.83 joules/cm2 to 4.13 joules/cm2, and it did not have the abstract danger of a firearm, and its possession did not harm the public interest.
Zhou Yuzhong pointed out that while announcing the "Case of Approval to Withdraw the Prosecution for Illegal Possession of Firearms by Yu", the Supreme Court Case Database deleted the "Case of Illegal Buying and Selling of Firearms by Liu and Sun", and replaced the reference case on the WeChat official account of the Supreme Court. The former is a case of innocence in a certain case, and the cases of Liu and Sun are cases in which the statutory sentence is reduced or exempted from punishment but is still guilty. This means that the Supreme Court's approach to low-specific kinetic firearm cases has shifted from mitigating sentences to acquittals. "Innocence should be considered first in such cases. The practice of fake guns must be stopped immediately. Zhou Yuzhong appealed.
The harm is not great, and it should not be found to be a crime
Another defense lawyer, Hu Jun, pointed out that the defendant did not have a clear understanding of the firearm in his possession and did not have subjective intent.
In addition, the defendant's illegal possession of firearms should not be found to be a crime because the circumstances were obviously minor and the harm was not great.
Court decision
Violation of firearms regulations
The offence of illegal possession of firearms is convicted and exempt from criminal punishment
After trial, the Zhen'an District Court of Dandong City ascertained that since 2018, the defendant Wang Moumou (Mr. Wang) has purchased 5 guns in an online store. On November 21, 2022, the Dandong police in Liaoning Province and the Meihekou Police in Jilin Province seized five guns in Wang's office.
After identification, the muzzle specific kinetic energy of the five guns ranged from 1.83 joules/square centimeter to 4.13 joules/square centimeter, which was greater than the 1.8 joules/square centimeter stipulated in the 2010 document of the Ministry of Public Security, and all of them were identified as guns powered by compressed gas.
The court of first instance held that the evidence in the case proved that the defendant Wang XX deleted the transaction records after the completion of the gun purchase transaction and used this method to purchase them many times, which is sufficient to determine that Wang XX subjectively had a clear understanding of the danger of his possession of firearms, and can prove that Wang XX had the subjective intention to illegally possess firearms.
Defendant Wang XX violated firearms management regulations by illegally possessing 5 firearms powered by compressed gas, and his conduct constituted the crime of illegal possession of firearms. The facts and charges charged by the public prosecution were established.
According to the relevant provisions: when deciding whether to pursue criminal responsibility and how to determine the punishment, the number of firearms involved in the case, the appearance of the guns, the materials, the projectiles, the places and channels of purchase, the price, the use, the degree of lethality, and whether it is easy to increase the lethality through restructuring shall be comprehensively considered when deciding whether to pursue criminal responsibility and how to determine the punishment, and other circumstances such as the number of firearms involved in the case, the appearance of the guns, the materials, the projectiles, the places and channels of purchase, the price, the use, the degree of lethality, and whether it is easy to increase the lethality through restructuring, comprehensively assess the harmfulness to society, adhere to the unity of subjectivity and objectivity, and ensure that the punishment is commensurate with the crime.
For the purpose of collecting or entertaining, illegally purchasing or possessing firearms powered by compressed gas, with low muzzle specific kinetic energy, and not being easy to increase the lethality through restructuring, the harm to society is relatively small, and a lenient punishment shall be given in accordance with law; If the perpetrator is a first-time offender and no serious consequences have been caused, criminal punishment may be waived in accordance with law.
In this case, the defendant Wang Moumou illegally possessed 5 guns powered by compressed gas and with low muzzle specific kinetic energy for the purpose of collecting and entertaining, which did not cause serious consequences, and accordingly, it is not appropriate to find that the circumstances are serious in this case. The section on the prosecution's allegation that the case is a serious circumstance is not supported.
Defendant Wang XX voluntarily surrendered after committing a crime and truthfully confessed the facts of his crime, and he surrendered voluntarily, and the crime was relatively minor, and punishment may be waived.
On July 4, 2024, the Zhen'an District Court of Dandong City announced the verdict in the first instance: the defendant Wang Moumou committed the crime of illegal possession of firearms and was exempted from criminal punishment.
Dialogue with the parties
An appeal has been filed against the first-instance verdict
There have been cases in which imitation guns were more powerful and were not convicted
"I have never thought about violating laws and regulations to possess firearms and harm others, and it is debatable whether the Ministry of Public Security's regulations on the specific kinetic energy of a gun greater than 1.8 joules per square centimeter are scientific and legal."
Mr. Wang said that during the first trial, lawyer Zhou Yuzhong proposed that on June 15, 2024, a reference case was added to the case database of the Supreme People's Court - the case of Yu's illegal possession of firearms and the withdrawal of prosecution. In this case, Yu bought a total of 9 imitation guns for collection at home over the years, 4 of which were damaged and could not be identified, and the specific kinetic energy of the muzzle of the other 5 air guns ranged from 2.6 joules/cm2 to 5.6 joules/cm². On July 20, 2020, the court, based on the 2018 reply of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Court, found that the circumstances of a certain crime were obviously minor and the harm was not great, and it should not be treated as a crime.
"My case is the same as Yu's case, there are 5 guns, and the muzzle specific kinetic energy value is between 1.83 joules per square centimeter and 4.13 joules per square centimeter, which is lower than in a certain case, and I have voluntarily surrendered, so it should not be regarded as a crime."
Mr. Wang said that after the incident, his parents were frightened, and both of them fell ill and were hospitalized. His daughter is only in elementary school, and he and his wife have been educating them to be honest people, and when they grow up, they will take the public examination or enlist in the army to contribute to society. If he is found guilty, he does not know how to face the child later.
Mr. Wang was dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment and has appealed. He hoped that the court of second instance would attach importance to the case and make a fair and just judgment.
Know more
>> relevant provisions
In 2010, the Ministry of Public Security issued the "Regulations on the Performance Appraisal of Firearms and Ammunition Involved in Cases by Public Security Organs", which stipulates that non-standard firearms that cannot fire standard ammunition will be recognized as firearms when the muzzle specific kinetic energy of the fired projectile is greater than or equal to 1.8 joules per square centimeter.
>> muzzle specific kinetic energy
It is the ratio of the kinetic energy of the projectile to the cross-sectional area of the projectile when it is located near the muzzle after it is discharged. It has been determined that a muzzle specific kinetic energy of 1.8 joules/square centimeter will cause damage to the bare eyes of the human body.
There is an opinion that a projectile with a muzzle specific kinetic energy of 1.8 joules / square centimeter is far from penetrating human skin, and eye damage is only a special case. The muzzle specific kinetic energy of the muzzle, which can cause more than minor injuries to any part of the human body, should be set at 10-15 joules per square centimeter. Huashang Daily Gale News reporter Chen Youmou
Source: Huashang Net-Huashang Daily